With more than a few columnists claiming that the Red Wings' days at the top of the Central Division are numbered thanks to the subtractions of Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky, Mikael Samuelsson, Ty Conklin, and the surprising defection of Jiri Hudler to Dynamo Moscow, the Free Press's Helene St. James argues that the Red Wings still chose to spend their cap dollars wisely:

July 14, Detroit Free Press: he Wings, meanwhile, made a tiny little splash by signing restricted free agent Ville Leino, completing what was a foregone conclusion.

But let's pause to remember the Wings made their big splashes before the playoffs even began, signing potential unrestricted free agent Henrik Zetterberg for 12 years and a $6-million annual cap hit in January, then locking up fellow free agent Johan Franzen for 11 years and $3.9 million a year in April.

With Hossa's annual cap number with Chicago at $5.2 million and Samuelsson's with Vancouver at $2.5 million, those two add up to $7.7 million a year, compared with about $10 million a year for Zetterberg and Franzen. Between them, in the 2009 playoffs, Zetterberg and Franzen combined for 23 goals. Hossa and Samuelsson combined for 11. The Wings picked the right players to secure ahead of free agency.

Fox Sports Detroit's John Keating did a Q and A with the Free Press's Mike Bruendell, and he argues that the Wings' young players should fill their scoring voids...

July 14, Detroit Free Press: Question: Can the Wings cover the loss of Marian Hossa next season, or is his departure a sign of hard times ahead?

John Keating: The Wings are going to be fine. Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader -- the younger players are developing right on schedule. Hossa was a great guy and it stings a little that he's going to Chicago, but it'll also be fun playing against him.

For the record, Sovetsky sport will conduct a web chat with Dynamo Moscow president Mikhail Golovkov and coach Sergei Kotov on Wednesday, which should throw a little napalm on the Hudlerian fire, especially as the IIHF may address the situation during their summer meetings on Wednesday.